Pablo Perez makes the kind of hot dogs people dream about. For the last seven years, he’s been introducing Phoenicians to the magic of the Sonoran Style Hot Dog, served out of a cheerful hot dog stand called Nogales Hot Dog #2. You’ll find Perez and his assistant seven nights…

Ana Borrajo is a free-spirited, globetrottin’ foodie. Her first foray into the local food scene was via Sapna’s Chillout Café at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. Every Saturday lines of people four deep would wait patiently for the Grenada, Spain native’s exotic juices, Spanish regional favorites like potato and tomato…

Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp have pretty sweet lives. First, they were savvy enough to open the super stylish Sweet Republic (9160 E. Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, 480-248-6979, www.sweetrepublic.com), where ingenious ice cream flavors like Salted Butter Caramel Swirl are the order of the day. Second, they were smart enough to…

Chef Beau MacMillan, Beau Mac to his friends, is down to earth. Which is actually no small feat, since as of late, he’s had his share of face time on TV. Best known for his stint on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America, Battle Kobe Beef, where he made quick…

Ben Hershberger, master baker at The Phoenician, has spent 25 years traveling, perfecting his craft, and picking up a trick or two, like his super-secret 200-year-old yeast culture. When he’s not enticing diners with exotic and artisinal bread at one of The Phoenician’s fancy pants eateries, he’s turning out an…

Thanks to Dee Logan and the Arizona Community Farmers Markets, these days you can add ‘local’ and ‘pesticide free’ to the list of coveted labels found in tony downtown Scottsdale. But in this case, the designers are farmers, growers, producers, and local chefs who supply fresh, healthy food. After several…

Takamatsu has been dishing out Korean barbecue, sushi, and noodle dishes to Arizonans for more than a decade, with restaurants in Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler and Litchfield Park. Their delicious barbecue has garnered the respect of sports stars, too, like Chan Ho Park, the pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, whose signed…

Svetlana and Abram Sulaymanov opened Russian Market over a decade ago in a dusty strip mall on the corner of 19th Avenue and Northern. Since then, they’ve been bringing the best dishes from the homeland to a hungry, and often homesick, community of ex-pats, immigrants, and globetrotting foodies. From beers,…

Fuggetabouit! If you’re hungry for a neighborhood Italian deli, the kind where Tony Soprano got his cannoli and mortadella fix, look no further than Niccoli’s Deli (www.niccolisdeli.com). Joe and Peppy Niccoli run this small but stellar spot on 16th Street, north of Bethany Home in Phoenix. The business has been…

Sunnyslope has seen its fair share of changes in the last decade. But what hasn’t changed is dessert – namely, from Karl’s Quality Bakery. Stefanie and Karl Boerner have managed this family-owned sweet spot on the corner of 7th Avenue and Dunlap for the last 15 years. Specializing in German…

  College towns and coffee joints go together like peanut butter and jelly. This is good news for Jason and Amy Silberschlag, founders of Cartel Coffee Lab, whose Tempe-based roaster and coffee bar is mere meters from Mill Avenue. Open less than a year, they’ve earned legions of adoring fans,…

David Johnson has wine on the brain. Why not? It runs in the family. He can trace his familial roots in the wine and spirits business back to 17th century Jacobite revolutionaries. As a sommelier in training, he spent years in Europe, honing both his palate and his craft. Now…

In less than five years, Matt’s Big Breakfast has become a downtown Phoenix institution. Every day but Sunday, the diner cooks up dozens of pieces of thick peppered bacon and pounds of olive-oil crisped potatoes in a kitchen smaller than an ASU dorm room. The teeny restaurant’s signature day-glow citrus…

By Sloane Burwell Jeff Fischer isn’t your ordinary barista. After 20 years in the hospitality industry, he and his wife took ownership of Lux Coffee Bar, so that his wife could pursue her life’s dream of owning a coffee shop. Under his watchful eye and warm smile, Lux has emerged…

By Sloane Burwell It’s easy to see why Rancho Pinot has been wowing Valley diners for a decade and a half. Under the watchful eye of talented Chef Chrysa Robertson, they’ve nailed the restaurant trifecta – amazing food, impressive wine list, and impeccable service. Its quirky interior is the obvious…

By Sloane Burwell Scottsdale’s Digestif is a sassy charmer. Its Cal-ital-inspired menu, the bricked chic interior, the swoon-worthy wine list and inventive cocktails are more than enough to make me move my CenPho-centric self on over for some of their crave-inducing charcuterie. Charcuterie — that’s French for unctuous, buttery, salted…